Britain’s Adam Peaty has history in his sights as the Olympic swimming champion heads to the Paris Games after slaying the demons that threatened to sink his glittering career.
Peaty stepped away from the pool last year as he battled depression, alcoholism and burnout.
But the 29-year-old has finally turned the corner in his mental health fight and believes he is ready to make waves in the French capital.
Peaty has three Olympic gold medals, with two in the 100m breaststroke and the 4x100m mixed medley at the 2021 Tokyo Games and the other in the 100m breaststroke at the 2016 Rio Games.
The eight-time world champion will arrive in Paris on the brink of equalling American great Michael Phelps as the only male swimmers to have won the same event at three successive Olympics.
That would be a remarkable landmark for Peaty given the issues in his private life that consumed him for so long.
“I got to a point in my career where I didn’t feel like myself. I didn’t feel happy swimming,” he said.
“I’ve had my hand hovering over a self-destruct button because if I don’t get the result that I want, I self destruct.
“When you achieve what I have in the sport that comes at a cost. I had to take a break from life really because it’s so demanding.”
Peaty’s ultra-competitive mindset fuelled his record-breaking feats, but the intensity required to maintain that elite edge took a heavy toll.
Once so scared by water that he had to be coaxed to start his swimming career as a shy nine-year-old in Uttoxeter, Peaty turned to drinking and partying to blot out the pain of the adult world.
Reflecting on his self-destructive behaviour, Peaty said the road to recovery only started when he took responsibility for his actions.
“It was only last year that I started to face what I’d been going through in a healthy manner,” he said.
“The answers can’t be found in a nightclub, or some of the stuff that I’d been doing. It had to be found in true accountability, tough and deep conversations with people around me.
“It requires so much maturity to face yourself in the mirror and admit that your behaviour is not acceptable.”
A broken foot ruled Peaty out of the 2022 World Championships during his darkest period, which also included a split from Eirianedd Munro, the mother of his young son George.
Peaty found his salvation in the church, which he credits with making him a better person, and a new partner Holly Ramsay, the daughter of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay.
“Depression is like a meter, you are constantly in check, and that can lead to a very lonely path because it pushes everyone else away,” he said.
“I’m definitely a man of faith. It was not really until I went back to church when I was burning out that there was a community that was there no matter what.”
Grounded by his religious faith and his new relationship, Peaty hopes to reap the rewards at the Olympics.
“I’m more relaxed in my approach. A little bit more knowledgeable of myself and when I look myself in the mirror I’m very peaceful,” he said.
“As soon as you stop running from yourself, I think that’s when you start living your true self.
“I’m not afraid to lose, I’m not afraid to win. How can you beat an athlete like that?”